What your pet’s trying to tell you when they’re NAUGHTY
WEALLknowtheoldadage that dogs are man’s best friend, but do we live up to their expectations? Each y ear v et c harity, t he P DSA, c ompiles the PAW (Pet Animal Wellbeing) report, and every year some UK pet owners slip up. Dogs aren’t walked enough and their basic needs are not met. So why is this?
As a vet, I’ve seen many owners shocked by the requirements and behaviour of their a nimals. Why is my rabbit lonely? Why won’t my cat stop scratching the furniture? Why is my dog so anxious when we leave the house without him?
It’snotbecauseanimalsaresuddenlyneedier than ever; they’re not millennial children after all! The fact is, many people don’t find out about animal behaviour before bringing their pet home. This is why we have abandoned dogs, lonely rabbits, stressed cats — among other problems.
You may be surprised to learn that the Animal Welfare Act 2006 makes you legally responsible for your pet’s five basic needs: T he correct food and water. T he right environment. To be with or without other animals. To expressnormalbehaviour. To be protected from pain, injury and disease.
This m ight s ound s imple, b ut m any o wners don’t realise most small furries should have companions of their own species, and that cats are not social creatures and like to be kept alone. They are often surprised that normalbehaviour for somespecies is in convenient . Dogs rolling in poo,rabb its digging holes in the lawn to name but a couple.
But animal welfare should never suffer because we find it irritating. So, to ensure you have happy and healthy pets, do your research beforehand, and ensure you have the s pace, t ime, e nergy a nd m oney to look after a pet properly.
The PAW report also shows we hugely underestimate the cost of keeping a pet. It’s about £30,000 for a dog over a lifetime, depending on breed and health.
The PDSA estimates you will need a bare minimum of £70 a month to care for a dog or cat.
How many parents are badgered into getting an animal by their children? How many of these youngsters then go onto tire of the pet? All the caring then falls to you. That’s why there are so many neglected, frustrated animals that no one really wants.
If you are being pestered, my advice is to testy our child’ s dedication by giving them some homework. The Pet Detective series that I wrote promoting responsible pet ownership tackles this. Each presents the facts about d ifferent pets based on the five needs.
Young readers do a trial month on paper, with tables to fill in, where t hey f ind o ut c osts a nd h ave to spend time on chores as if they were actually caring for the animal.Thosewantingdogsgoforhalf an hour’s walk twice daily for a month. You’ll be amazed how this trial month makes some of them change their minds!
Once y ou h ave d one y our r esearch and b ring y our a nimal h ome, h opefully it will be the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship.
In fact it’ s a bond that can with stand all manner of challenges and quirky behaviour. The best cat we’ve ever owned was Brian. He adored my dog, Badger, and used to come for walks with us. However, he was also a kleptomaniac. It began with a collection of children’ s hand puppets and a pair of slippers, which mysteriously appeared in the kitchen over a few days until I caught him re d-pa wed dragging one through the cat flap.
He did this many times. We never dared to find their owners!
Some can’ t tolerate their pet’ squirks and end up re ho ming them, but many others happily put up with all manner of tricky habits. As today’s case studies s how.
MY MOGGIE FLOODED THE ENTIRE HOUSE
Jasper the cat, two, lives with Jack Johnson, 30, clinic director and vet at White Cross Vets, and his wife, Natasha, 29, also a vet, in Bolton. They also have a dog Olive, who’s five. Jack says:
LONG-HAIRED t abby J asper w as the sickly kitten dumped outside the veterinary practice where I used to work. Blind in one eye, he looked very sorry for himself.
We fixed him up, gave him a ntibiotics, flea and worming t reatments in the hope that someone would adopt him. He was there for a month — two potential owners took him home, only to return him. At that point, I felt sorry for him and decided to take him on myself.
Hand-reared kittens taken from their mother too early are often very demanding and Jasper was always trying to get attention: digging around in cupboards , lea ping out at you, knocking things over.
We f irst d iscovered h is f ascination with water when we were filling glasses at the kitchen sink: he’d leap up top a watt he drips coming from the tap.
It was when we went on holiday and he stayed at my in-law’s that he really became obsessed. They would leave the tap dripping for him to play with and he’ d sit there for hours.
Then, at Easter 2018, I woke up at 6.30am to hear the ensuite shower running — odd as my wife natasha had left earlier to catch a plane; why had she left it on?
When I checked, the shower was off. But out on the landing water was pouring out of the light fittings. The carpet was drenched.
Thinking a pipe had burst, I went up the stairs to the attic conversion, meeting Jasper on the way. Soaked to the skin, he looked slightly sheepish as he slunk past.
In the bathroom, the bath was overflowing with a cascade of water. I quickly flicked off the tap and checked the rest of the house.
Water was pouring through the ceilings and had gone through three floors. The kitchen floor was flooded — o ur d og O live w as s itting there drenched in her bed. Then there was the damaged plaster and the electrics. The only rooms unaffected were our bedroom and the living room beneath.
I rang natasha and asked if she’d
had a bath. ‘Why would I have a bath at 3am?’ she replied.
There was only one culprit: Jasper. He must have flicked on the lever-like tap, and stood on the pop-up plug.
To my huge relief we were covered by the insurance, but the damage cost £5,000 in total. We had to replace all the carpets, treat the plaster, repaint all the walls and install new light fittings.
Jasper was certainly called a few names but I wouldn’t dream of getting rid of him. These days we take precautions — removing the plug every night and keeping the bathroom door firmly shut.
I don’t imagine it’s his last bout of mischief — but hopefully it’s the most expensive!
EMMA’S VERDICT: Lots of cats prefer running water to drinking out of a bowl because flowing water is more likely to be fresh. If you have a water-loving cat like Jasper you can buy water fountains for them. They don’t waste much and also encourage drinking which is great for cats plagued with bladder problems.
MISCHIEVOUS MAX’S GREAT ESCAPE BID
Beagle cross Max, three, lives in Norfolk with owner alicia Taylor, 24, who works in marketing, her partner and two other dogs, Bailey, three, and lady, two. alicia says:
WE gOT Max from a rescue centre in Cyprus a year ago. He’d had a bad start in life and had scars down his legs where he’d been beaten. He came from a charity that specialises in bringing abused dogs over to the UK.
We already had Bailey and Lady, and Max settled in well. He’s a very loving dog, quiet but very caring. As a result of all he’s been through, he’s very attached to us.
He used to chew at furniture and the windowsills. I’ve had many dogs in my life and knew that was probably down to anxiety caused by his past.
To help him, I bought chew toys and we ensured he was stimulated with lots of play.
Whenever we go out, we pull the blinds partially shut to stop the dogs barking at passers-by and keep the TV on. We find it helps them cope with our absences. Not that I was away often as I worked from home for a long time.
However, we moved house a month ago, and about the same time I started to work in an office. That’s when Max’s anxiety escalated. He began scratching the windowsill, trying to find us.
Three weeks ago, I came home to find great chunks of concrete all over the floor. There was a deep hole — the size of a hand — in the concrete at the base of the French doors. Max must have dug away at it in an attempt to escape.
He’d found a weak spot and tried to tunnel his way out — presumably with his paws and teeth. There was no injury to him, thankfully, but the floor was in ruins. We just can’t fathom how he managed to dig such a large hole in concrete!
It makes me sad that he’d got himself in such a state. We managed to cover the hole temporarily, and he hasn’t done it since.
Of course we’ll have to have the floor replaced but I have only sympathy for poor Max. We are now working on a number of solutions including dog stress-relief sprays and plug-ins to help him learn to relax. I hope he’ll adjust soon.
EMMA’S VERDICT: It’s amazing how much damage dogs can do in a relatively short space of time. Seeing an animal behaviourist can be a good idea because they can make a massive difference to cases of separation anxiety.
Often problems are caused by things that we just don’t think about, and once you hear the reasons and possible solutions you can make progress. With cases like this, the earlier you get professional help the better.